What is Meditation on God’s Law?

by Janet Sketchley

 

But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night (Psalm 1:2, NLT*).

Surely the psalmist doesn’t expect us to go around mentally reciting the Ten Commandments and all the extra bits of legalese that Moses added?

That doesn’t sound like something we could delight in. It sounds… like cramming for a test. Dry. To be honest, it sounds boring. And discouraging. After all, looking at all those requirements, knowing we’re human and can never satisfy the Law… not a good scene. It reminds me of another verse:

The human spirit can endure a sick body,
but who can bear a crushed spirit (Proverbs 18:14, NLT*)?

Let’s think for a minute.

What is the law of the Lord?

If it’s not the list of dos and don’ts, what is it?

I think in this context, it’s the very character of God. It’s who He is, how He conducts Himself, and yes, what He requires of us if we’re living for His glory.

Doesn’t that change the picture? Doesn’t it sound like prayer? Like something we can delight in?

There’s no hardship in spending time thinking about the God who loves us, remembering different aspects of who He is and what He’s done for us. It leads naturally into worship and prayer. It draws us nearer to Him and strengthens our faith.

Meditating on God can also lead to examining our own lives, seeing where we need to realign ourselves to His ways.

It might even hurt a bit when we recognize how far off-track some parts of our lives may be, but it’s not the spirit-crushing sense of failure I mentioned above.

It can’t be, because we’re also looking at who God is. That means we’ll remember His promise to forgive our sins and clean us up. We’ll remember His faithfulness, and that He’ll never leave us. We’ll remember He loves us.

That kind of meditating on God’s law is something delightful indeed!

Tweetables: 

Meditating on God’s law doesn’t have to be boring. (tweet this)

It’s good to think about the God who loves us. (tweet this)

Meditating on God can also lead to examining our own lives, seeing where we need to realign ourselves to His ways. (tweet this)

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.